Style Buzz: Closet Edits + Styling a Jean Jacket

Eugene Stylist
May 29
3 min read

Updated: Aug 14

Three Ideas to Inspire Your Style This Week

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"It takes the same amount of

time to put on good clothes

as bad clothes."

I love this saucy little nugget of Stacy London wisdom. She's referring to clothes that fit you and make you feel good, not expensive clothes. And while I appreciate that sometimes your brain might not have much energy to put into your outfits, starting off with only good clothes in your wardrobe eliminates even having any bad ones to consider. It's like going to an ice cream parlor and they only have your favorite flavors. You know you like all of them, so the hardest part is deciding which one goes with your day.

xxx rachel

CLOSET EDITING: HOW TO SORT

When you start clearing out your closet you'll sort things into piles, and I've seen a lot of advice for just three piles: keep, toss, donate. While I appreciate the simplicity of this system, it doesn't sit well with my sustainability sensibilities nor my clients' actual needs! I find that depending on the closet, I can have far more categories than that, including Keep, Mend, Donate, Sell, Temporary Storage, Recycle, and my favorite: Dressing Up Box!

Each one has a specific purpose that offers a way to deal of the things that should and shouldn't be in your wardrobe with clarity and without contributing to landfill.

How I put this into practice:

First, I bring spacious burlap bags that stand up on their own and then attach a rewriteable tag to each bag. That way, we know exactly where everything will go if it's not going back into the closet. Next, my client makes a decision of either keep a piece or not. Keeps obviously go in the closet, but if it needs mending, it goes in its own bag. If it's not an everyday, keep-in-the-closet piece, I ask if it should it go into temporary storage (like seasonal items or they're just not ready to make a decision about it), or could it be used as a costume, in which case it goes into a dressing up box. For everything that's not a keep, is it worth selling? The sellable items go in their own bag, but if they don't want to sell it but it's in good condition, it can be donated. Everything else can be popped into a brown bag labeled "textiles for recycling" and dropped off at St Vinnies.

The result? The client knows exactly the plan for every piece of clothing whether they're keeping it or not, and nothing will end up in the trash. You'll notice that I give clients many options of what to do with clothes that don't suit their current style - I'm not just throwing it all away. However, it's up to the client to put their items into storage, get their mending done (I have a list of great tailors in town) and to handle anything they want to sell, but if they want to donate it, I'll take it out of the house so nothing creeps its way back into their closet. Remember, only the good clothes go in there!

On that note: I'm collecting clothes for my (future!) non-profit that will provide capsule wardrobes and styling to members of our community who lack other social services. If you're clearing out your closet and have clothes to donate, I'll take them (I'll even pick them up)! Just text me or send me an email - I'll take anything from casual sport clothes, pj's, and foundation garments to blouses, dresses, suits, and everything in between. Thank you so much!!

415.305.6500

rachel@eugenestylist.com

3 WAYS TO WEAR IT: Jean Jacket

Jean jackets were hugely popular when I was in high school and mine was not cool AT ALL. When I saw this little number, I splurged because it was Levi's (OG!) and the fit is perfect for me. It's got to be at least 15 years old by now and it's a staple in my Spring and Summer wardrobes when I need an outer layer that's more than a cardigan but less than a coat, and a little more casual than a blazer. From travel to picnics to meetings, it's perfect everywhere.